BUZZ ALDRIN ~ BARNSTORMER BREWING

Buzz Aldrin is part of Barnstormers sour series and was a seasonal release. The beer is flavoured with peach. Sampled on draught, the brew poured a slightly hazy golden yellow with a thin white head. The nose is very mild with a little sourness, a tiny bit of funk and very light peaches. The taste has a lingering sour, with a light but detectable tart peach taste. It is not as peachy as I would have expected. Not bad, a nice summer sour.

3.8% from Barrie, Ontario IBU 15

CUPIDS WINGS HIBISCUS RED ALE ~ BARNSTORMER

6.9% from Barrie, Ontario 

 25 IBU

Cupid’s Wing was a special February Release from Barnstormer Brewing in Barrie. It is a red ale brewed with hibiscus. Sampled in draught the beer poured a rich brown colour with garnet hues and an off white head, which left streaky lacing as it receded. The nose had notes of molasses and malts, with aa subtle hibiscus floridness, coming through. There is lots going on here making the brew slightly muddled. Taste followed the nose: molasses, caramel, malts, red berries, a little tartness with an off dry very subtle floral hibiscus finish. Quite drinkable, just not stellar.

DEAD STICK STOUT ~ BARNSTORMER

5.9% from Barrie, Ontario 24 IBU

Dead Stick is a milk stout. Sampled on draught the beer poured an opaque brown-black pour, with a lasting creamy dense beige head. Lacing was on the thin side. The nose was a melange of roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, fruit and some sweetness. The flavour followed suit, with lactic sweetness, coffee, chocolate, roasted malts and a little hop bitterness at the end. The body was medium with a creamy mouthfeel and low carbonation. A smooth stout. Quite drinkable, I would order this again.

CHOCOHOLIC (IXCOLATE) ~ BARNSTORMER BREWING

Chocoholic AKA IXCOLATE (ex-co-la-tee) is a collaboration with a local Belgian Chocolatier. It is a brown ale brewed with Ecuadorian cocoa nibs. Sampled on draught the ale poured a very opaque deep chestnut brown, with an average beige head. The head left some nice lacing as it receded into a ring around the top. The nose contained roasted malts, chocolate, and a hint of dark fruit. The flavour followed as expected: roasted malts, caramel, coffee, nuts and berries. The flavours were mild with a slight lingering milky chocolate. The body was light and had a creamy mouthfeel, and the carbonation was soft. A nice way to finish the evening, but to rich to have several.

5.2% from Barrie, Ontario 16 IBU

FLIGHT DELAY ~ BARNSTORMER BREWING

 

Flight Delay is a delicious IPA with mango. Sampled on draught the beer poured an unfiltered deep golden-amber with a generous frothy off-white head, that left thick lacing. The nose contains some bready malts, yeast, mango, tropical fruit, oranges, grapefruit and resiny hops. The taste is well balanced. A solid malt backbone stands up to the juicy bitter grapefruit-pine hops. More subtle caramel malts, citrus and mango linger in the background. The sweetness of the fruit and bitterness of the hops are an excellent marriage in this bold flavour explosion. The palette was medium bodied and the carbonation was moderate, and the finish was dry but had a lingering bitterness.

6.5% from Barrie, Ontario IBU 85+
Malts: Canadian two row and Crystal
Hops: Magnum, Chinook, Centennial and Citra
Yeast: California Ale

12 MINUTES TO DESTINY ~ 

FLYING MONKEYS

Sampled on draught this beer poured an intense ruby red with a soft brown undertone. The think bubbly head is pink. The nose is quite strong with hibiscus, raspberry and sweet fruits. Subtle notes of caramel malts, florals citrus and leafy hops are also present. The taste is intense fruity, sweet raspberry and citrus abound. It tastes like a raspberry soda accompanied by subtle malts, hints of citrus and rosewater also adds nuance. The brew is light bodied with crisp carbonation and a lingering fruit sweetness and astringency the finish. This went down like Kool-Aid. A refreshing summer drink, but not for those who don’t have a sweet tooth.
4.1% from Barrie, Ontario IBU 8

Malts: 2-row pale malt (Copeland and Metcalf)
Hops: Saaz (bittering and late hopping)
Other: Hibiscus flowers rose hips, fresh raspberry and orange peel.

IRISH IT WAS MORE RED ~ FLYING MONKEYS

To me the Flying Monkeys Brewery has always been associated with taste bud shredding very hoppy ales. They seem to be rebranding a little and spreading their wings so to speak and expanding their repertoire. I have had some really interesting things from this brewer in the past year, from a basil saison to a sour ESB, this brew is a small pilot batch Irish Red Ale. Sampled on draught the beer poured an orangey amber colour. There was little carbonation in the beer (I’d say it was flat) and had almost no head. The nose contained lots of fruitiness, some caramel malt, and a grassiness. Carmel malts and fruit were on the forefront of the taste, along with a subtle earthiness, and very little hop bitterness. A light fruity aftertaste lingered for short time. I found the taste to be quite light, and the mouthfeel to be watery at times. Drinkable but meh.
5.3% Barrie, Ontario 18 IBU

BASILISK PARADISE SAISON ~ BREWFIST & FLYING MONKEYS

This is a collaboration with Flying Monkeys in Barrie, Ontario and Brewfist in Codogno, Italy. This collab has resulted in a saison brewed with ‘grains of paradise’ (Melegueta pepper), orange, basil and rosemary. Sampled on draught. The beer poured a hazy golden amber colour with an off white head, which left some lacing. The nose is mild and has yeasts, fruity esters, malts, and some floral and herbal notes, and grassy hops (Styrian Golding, Cascade and Magnum were used). The taste follows along the same lines as the aroma: some sweet dried fruit, hay, farmhouse funk, pale malts, herbals (especially hints of Basil) and a hoppy finish. The beer has a medium body and is moderately carbonated. I really enjoyed this saison and its complexities of flavour. Well done!

6% from Codogno, Italy and Barrie, Ontario 30 IBU

PRICKLY CONKER ~ FLYING MONKEYS

Prickly Conker is another sour surprise from the Flying Monkeys Brewery. Known for hoppy beers and stellar one-offs, this is the second sour beer this year (C2C was the first). Sampled on draught, in a keg that had been aged for a few months. The beer poured a very murky medium brown with a moderate head that has a pink hue. There is lots of dark fruit and sourness in on the nose. The first sip of this I found very sour. The more I drank, the more I liked it, and the more I noticed the nuances that this beer contains. Currants, dates, prunes, orange peel gave this beer a taste that reminded me of a boozy Christmas pudding. Church wine, tart grapes, also figured in there somewhere. After the sourness from wild yeasts, there appeared a subtle chocolate malt sweetness that lingered on in the aftertaste. Most interesting!

8% from Barrie, Ontario

C2C ~ FLYING MONKEYS

Flying Monkeys motto is “Normal is Weird” so it seems fitting that this concoction is brewed by them.  This is a really bizarre beer…in a good way.  It is a Sour ESB.  The beer pours a very strange off-putting murky brown orange, not unlike something you may find in a diaper.   It has lots of sour apple, and berry and acidity on the nose. It is mouth-puckering sour with a plethora of different flavours.  The smorgasbord of flavour included raspberry, sour green apple, apple cider, and a touch of vinegar, spice, subtle maltiness and herbal flourishes.  A strange one, but I enjoyed it!

5% from Barrie, Ontario

DEEP TRACKS ~ FLYING MONKEYS

Sampled on draft, Deep Tracks is an American Brown Ale.  It pours a dark mahogany brown, with a reddish hue and a good off-white head.  The nose has lots of nutty notes, as well as a touch of chocolate, caramel and herbals.  The beer itself is fairly full flavoured.  In the beginning the taste is much like the nose, with the nuttiness shining through.  Centennial hops give the beer a bitter citrusy and piny kick.  I think I would have preferred a subtler finish to this otherwise palatable beer.

6.2%  from Barrie, Ontario      

25 IBU